


goodnight verse

by orphan_account



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-18 02:22:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 6,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3552449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of vampire kaisoo drabbles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that these are **not in chronological order** , but rather the order in which I originally wrote them. 
> 
> These were originally written in a friend's ask.fm. I may update from time to time if inspiration hits, but maybe not?? idk
> 
> Please also note that I didn't follow traditional vampire lore for this, so if that kind of thing bothers you please beware!

Sometimes Jongin wonders who first started claiming that vampires are cold to the touch. Kyungsoo, at the very least, is quite warm. All of the literary metaphors likening vampires to granite seem so silly when contrasted to the gentle give of Kyungsoo’s skin beneath Jongin’s fingers as Jongin pulls him closer. Kyungsoo, for his part, whines and squirms in protest against the movement.

“What are you doing?” Kyungsoo asks. It’s probably supposed to come out as an annoyed hissed, but instead the words slur together slightly. Kyungsoo always gets like this after feeding -- sleepy, and a little childish. It’s cute. Kyungsoo cracks open an eye to glare, and Jongin has to muffle his smile at the risk of getting an elbow in his stomach.

“Nothing, just getting comfortable,” Jongin replies. “My leg was falling asleep.”

Kyungsoo tsks, but disentangles their legs slightly so that his weight is no longer resting on Jongin’s knee. It’s a small thing, but even so Jongin feels butterflies starting to flutter in his stomach. His heart is beating faster, and he knows that Kyungsoo can tell as well. Before, this would have immediately led to Kyungsoo stiffening and pulling away. “No attachments,” Kyungsoo had said right from the beginning, like a chant, a motto, a lifeline. Now, though, he just brings one hand so that he can brush his fingers lightly along the marks on Jongin’s neck. Jongin shivers.

“Does it hurt?” Kyungsoo asks, suddenly serious, as if he doesn’t ask multiple times every single time he feeds. As if the answer ever changes.

“No,” Jongin says, shaking his head. He uses the motion to bury his head into Kyungsoo’s shoulder. Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything more, but his hand wanders away from Jongin’s neck and finds its way to Jongin’s hand. Kyungsoo laces their fingers together and squeezes lightly.

There are things Jongin suddenly wants to say, words on the tip of his tongue threatening to spill over, but he swallows them. Feeding may not hurt him, but it does, quite literally, drain his energy. This isn’t a conversation Jongin quite feels up to having. Not now. Not yet. Besides, Kyungsoo is so warm and comfortable. Jongin can already feel his grip on consciousness starting to slip.

“Go to sleep,” Kyungsoo says, as if he’s reading Jongin’s mind. And honestly, he just might be. Although there are many things about vampires that Jongin has figured out over time, he is well aware that for each thing he knows there are at least three that he doesn’t. It’s not worth worrying about now, though. The blood loss seems to be hitting him all at once, and Jongin is fading fast. He snuggles closer, and grins triumphantly when Kyungsoo doesn’t complain about the jostling. Just for good measure, Jongin extricates one of his legs and throws it over Kyungsoo’s hip. Kyungsoo sighs but doesn’t pull away; and like that, tangled together comfortably, Jongin drifts off to sleep. 


	2. Chapter 2

Kyungsoo doesn’t like to sleep. It’s not that he can’t sleep -- he can, and he does on the occasions where he gets exhausted to the point where his body refuses to go on. It’s because of the dreams. Three hundred years is a long time, and things start to accumulate. Memories that rear up in the dark to wrap ghostly fingers around his throat and stifle his screams.

Kyungsoo doesn’t like to sleep. He always leaves after he feeds, fighting back his own drowsiness until he can sneak out. One time, shortly after he was changed, he had accidentally dozed off, only to awake screaming with the terrified human he had fed from cowering in the corner. Since then Kyungsoo never stayed, not even once.

The first time he meets Jongin, Kyungsoo falls asleep. Baekhyun is holding some sort of stupid movie night get together, and Kyungsoo is squished awkwardly into the couch, trapped between the end and some guy he’s never seen before. Kyungsoo has known Baekhyun for a long time -- some sixty odd years, since Kyungsoo had found Baekhyun newly-changed and wandering around the devastated remains of the South Korean countryside. 

A lot has changed since then, that’s for sure. It still startles Kyungsoo, sometimes, to see Baekhyun dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, with his carefully dyed and styled hair hidden under a snapback hat. Modern style, modern fashion. Strange.

“You’re like Baekhyun, right? A vampire?” the guy sitting next to Kyungsoo asks quietly as Baekhyun squabbles loudly with someone while trying to set up the TV properly. That’s another thing that has changed. The introduction of vampires to the public eye and the subsequent chaos were things Kyungsoo had very carefully avoided. It’s still weird for him to hear people address vampirism directly.

Kyungsoo nods, but doesn’t reply. It feels like small talk anyway, and Kyungsoo has always hated small talk.

Just then the movie finally starts, and Kyungsoo settles in with a quiet sigh. He’s seen this movie at least ten times before, but Baekhyun had insisted upon Kyungsoo coming. The lead actor dashes across the screen, the colors overly bright in contrast to the darkened room, and Kyungsoo can feel irritation building in the form of a headache behind his eyes. He can’t remember the last time he slept -- not that it matters.

Kyungsoo blinks.

The screen has tilted. Also it’s no longer showing the lead actor, or anything at all for that matter. The lights are on, and Kyungsoo can hear Baekhyun’s chatter coming from somewhere in the direction of the kitchen.

Kyungsoo blinks again. It’s not the screen that has tilted, but rather his head. His cheek is resting against the cotton of the sweatshirt the guy sitting next to him is wearing. Kyungsoo had fallen asleep. On the shoulder of a stranger.

In a flash Kyungsoo is on the other side of the room. The guy -- Jongin, Kyungsoo remembers from when Baekhyun had introduced them earlier in the night -- looks every bit as startled as Kyungsoo feels.

“Sorry,” Jongin says, once he’s recovered enough to speak. “I probably should have woken you, but you seemed so tired.” He’s blushing, and against his will Kyungsoo finds himself staring at the way the blood flushes across Jongin’s cheeks. Kyungsoo hadn’t paid any particular attention before, but now he notices that Jongin is incredibly good looking. He has gorgeous cheekbones and an amazing jaw, and even the way his hair flops into his eyes is endearing.

When Kyungsoo stays silent, Jongin offers a timid smile. “And besides, it was kind of nice.”

Kyungsoo can _feel_ the way Jongin’s heart is hammering. His eyes flicker down towards Jongin’s chest, and when he looks back up he’s almost knocked breathless by how _hopeful_ Jongin looks.

And that’s when Kyungsoo knows, without a single doubt, that he is completely fucked.


	3. Chapter 3

“Are you feeling okay? You look a little pale.” Kyungsoo flinches away in surprise as Jongin’s hand comes towards him, presumably to feel his forehead for a fever. Jongin must realize how pointless his action is -- vampires don’t get colds, after all -- because he quickly retracts his hand with a sheepish look. Kyungsoo raises an amused eyebrow and Jongin drops his gaze to his cup of iced coffee sitting on the table. A light pink dusts across Jongin’s cheeks; Kyungsoo tries his best to ignore it.

“I just haven’t eaten in a while, that’s all,” Kyungsoo says. He, too, pulls his eyes away from Jongin in favor of staring at the table. Kyungsoo has no need or desire for coffee, but he has a cup sitting next to his open textbook anyway. “Blending in,” as Baekhyun would say. Kyungsoo, however, simply calls it survival. Keeping up appearances is something Kyungsoo had learned by necessity early on, long before vampires had become accepted, or even expected, by the public. The coffee tastes like ash on his tongue, but old habits are hard to break.

Jongin hums and plays with his coffee, using his straw to spin the ice cubes around. Jongin also has a textbook sitting on the table, a massive tome for his ecology class. They were originally studying together -- Jongin working on a homework assignment while Kyungsoo reviewed for his midterm on the history of Confucianism in China. Kyungsoo has more degrees than he can count, from undergraduate up to doctorate, in more fields than he can remember, and yet somehow he always finds himself drawn back to history. Even after all these years, he can’t seem to shake his scholarly roots.

“What do you eat, anyway?” Jongin asks. He’s still looking at his cup, eyebrows drawn in careful concentration as he moves his straw. If he’s trying to make the question seem casual, it’s not working.

“People,” Kyungsoo deadpans. Startled, Jongin looks up and takes in Kyungsoo’s completely straight face before suddenly bursting into laughter. 

“I know that,” Jongin says, after he’s laughed so hard that even Kyungsoo gave in and cracked a smile. “But I mean, you probably don’t have people lining up and volunteering to let you feed from them.”

“Not exactly,” Kyungsoo says. His smile turns wry. “We have a kind of blood bank system, now that we’re official and stuff. Mostly animal blood, carefully preserved and refrigerated for storage.” Kyungsoo thinks of the packets sitting in his fridge at home and wrinkles his nose. “They taste just about as good as this coffee does. Which is not at all.”

Jongin is quiet now, thoughtful. “That must suck,” he says. The straw bends beneath his fingers.

Kyungsoo hums in agreement. The coffee shop is loud around them, but the beating of Jongin’s heart seems to drown out all of the ambient noise. Usually Kyungsoo can ignore it, just like he ignores the pulses of the people he passes on the street, but all at once it sounds like Jongin’s heart is trying to beat its way out of his ribcage and it’s like a siren going off in Kyungsoo’s head. Jongin is nervous about something, and it has Kyungsoo on edge.

“Hey,” Jongin finally says after a long stretch of silence. “What if…” he trails off, and Kyungsoo looks up from the page of his textbook he had been pretending to read. Jongin is still staring at his drink. “Do you want to… I could, um.” Jongin swallows. All at once Kyungsoo gets it. He gets it, and he really wishes he didn’t.

“Are you offering to let me feed from you?” Kyungsoo asks, enunciating each word carefully. He asks in order to confirm, but he knows the answer before Jongin even nods his head. Jongin’s heart is still pounding.

“Jongin,” Kyungsoo says. Jongin looks up and it’s all Kyungsoo can do to keep his train of thought. Jongin looks _so good_ and Kyungsoo thinks he might actually be losing his mind. “What exactly do you want from me?”

Jongin bites his lip and glances down, breaking their eye contact. He’s flushed, right to the tips of his ears. Kyungsoo realizes his own body is slowly leaning forward and clenches his fists, willing himself to stop. Control is something Kyungsoo prides himself on; he hasn’t been this close to letting his instincts take over since he was recently-changed. His fingernails dig indents into his palms. His entire body is trembling.

“Are you looking for some sort of a relationship?” Kyungsoo asks sharply. He knows he’s being unnecessarily harsh, but he can’t help it when he feels like he’s about to shake out of his skin. “Because if you are, I think it’s best for both of us if we part ways here and have nothing to do with each other anymore.”

Kyungsoo expects another pause, but Jongin answers immediately.

“No.” Jongin’s answer is quiet but emphatic. He meets Kyungsoo’s gaze again. “No, I’m not-- No strings attached, right? That’s what you want? Because that’s what I want, too.”

Jongin’s eyes are ablaze, almost defiant. Kyungsoo almost wants to ask, but instead files the thought away for another day. Jongin swallows again and Kyungsoo’s eyes follow the movement, lingering on Jongin’s throat.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo says. “No strings attached.”


	4. Chapter 4

To say that Jongin has had his heart broken before would probably be melodramatic. It would probably be more accurate to say that over time his heart has acquired small bruises and bumps, which accumulated to the point where he became reluctant to offer it up for further harm.

Jongin has little interest in relationships. A one night stand here and there, a friends-with-benefits arrangement every now and then. No attachments. It works out better this way, Jongin thinks.

“Are you sure you want to get involved with a vampire?” Sehun, Jongin’s close friend and former roommate, asks one day shortly after Jongin first offers himself to Kyungsoo. Sehun looks concerned, which is strange, because usually he’s the king of poker faces.

“Why not?” Jongin asks. “He’s cute.”

Sehun purses his lips together into a thin line. The two of them are sprawled across Sehun’s bed, watching variety reruns on TV while systematically decimating Sehun’s junk food collection. Jongin reaches for another handful of chips and focuses his eyes on the television screen. Sehun sits in silence for a little while longer before saying, “It just seems like setting yourself up to get hurt, is all. I mean, think about it. He’s fucking _immortal_.”

Jongin’s entire body stiffens. “Isn’t that better, though?” he asks. He sounds defensive, even to his own ears, but he can’t be bothered to care. “He’s not looking for a relationship. I’m not looking for a relationship. Win-win.”

On the TV, someone cracks a joke and the laugh track plays. Sehun pulls his bottom lip between his teeth and begins to worry it. Jongin’s phone buzzes. He pulls it out of his pocket -- it’s a message from Kyungsoo. Jongin unlocks his phone and tries to ignore the weight of Sehun’s gaze on the back of his neck. Finally Sehun says, “Alright, if you say so.”

One of the variety show hosts on the TV laughs so hard that he falls off of his chair.


	5. Chapter 5

When Kyungsoo falls asleep next to Jongin, he doesn’t dream. 

He doesn’t notice it at first; he’s too busy being horrified over the fact that he fell asleep at all. However, the thought starts vaguely occurring to him as finds himself blinking awake curled into Jongin’s side more and more often. Initially he regards it as a fluke, and resolves to be more diligent about staying awake in the future. Exposing Jongin to the aftermath of one of the dreams is the last thing Kyungsoo wants. But after the sixth, seventh, eighth times he can no longer ignore it. There’s something about Jongin that seems to put Kyungsoo at peace, allowing him to escape his terrors.

It’s perplexing, really. What could a _human_ possibly offer that would let Kyungsoo feel enough at ease slip into slumber to start with, much less seemingly protect him from his dreams? Initially Kyungsoo spends a lot of time turning the thought over and over in his head. He pursues it doggedly, worrying at it like he used to do when he was little and unable resist pulling the scabs off of his skinned knees. He knows that it’s probably better to just leave it alone, but he can’t help himself.

Eventually, though, Kyungsoo finds himself thinking about it less and less often. It’s something he comes to accept, and even expect. For the first time in longer than Kyungsoo can remember, it’s a relief to fall asleep.

The problem is that dreamless sleep is addictive.

“Sorry, were you sleeping?”

The edges of his cell phone dig into Kyungsoo’s fingertips. It’s close to 2 a.m. on a Monday night. The only light in Kyungsoo’s room is the weak illumination from the streetlights outside filtering in through his window and the glow of his cell phone screen reflecting onto his cheek. He leans back against the wall and pulls his knees to his chest.

“Yeah, but it’s okay,” Jongin says, voice gravelly with sleep. Kyungsoo can imagine how Jongin probably looks, with his hair a mess and his face most likely still smooshed halfway into his pillow. “What’s up?”

“Do you mind if I come over?” Now that he’s on the phone, actually talking to Jongin and asking this, Kyungsoo feels incredibly stupid. He wants to words to come out nonchalant, but something about the dark stillness of his room and the phone clasped in his hand make them seem inherently pitiful.

“Why? Is something wrong?” There’s rustling from across the line. Jongin must be sitting up, wrestling his way out of his blankets. His voice, previously so sleepy, is suddenly serious. “Kyungsoo? Hyung? Are you okay?”

“It’s nothing really I just.. I had a bad dream.” Even now, awake and sitting in his room, Kyungsoo’s nose is overwhelmed with the metallic scent of blood. If he blinks he can see it behind his eyelids, and even with his eyes open every shadow seems to form into a figure in his peripheral vision. Kyungsoo shudders, swallowing hard. In the back of his head there’s a tiny voice mocking him for running to a human for comfort over a _dream_. Pathetic, pathetic, how pathetic.

The phone trembles in Kyungsoo’s hand.

“Yeah, of course,” Jongin replies immediately. The concern is palpable in his voice, and it makes Kyungsoo cringe. One of the things Kyungsoo abhors the most is being vulnerable. And yet here he is, practically crawling to Jongin to beg for help.

The worst part, though, the part that Kyungsoo hates the most, isn’t the fact that he called Jongin to start with. It’s the wave of relief that Jongin’s words send washing over him, and the way he is already getting to his feet to look for a sweatshirt to keep him warm during the twenty minute walk to Jongin’s place.

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo murmurs as he rummages through his closet one-handed. “I’ll be there soon.”

Pathetic.


	6. Chapter 6

One of the most frustrating things about Kyungsoo is how little Jongin actually knows about him. All of their conversations relating to personal life are overwhelmingly biased towards Jongin, with Kyungsoo deftly dodging every inquiry. Jongin is burning with curiosity about Kyungsoo’s past, but Kyungsoo never offers information on his own and Jongin doesn’t want to accidentally step over any invisible lines by asking about it. Jongin bears with it for almost two months, biting his tongue whenever Kyungsoo deflects the conversation away from himself; but the suppression technique can only last for so long, and it’s only a matter of time until Jongin can no longer keep himself from asking.

They’re in the library with their textbooks and laptops spread out across a table in the study lounge when Jongin blurts out, “Why do you never talk about yourself?”

The outburst is completely unprecedented. Neither of them have said anything for at least the past half hour, and their previous conversation topic hadn’t even been about personal matters. Kyungsoo looks up from his book, one finger marking his spot, and blinks at Jongin slowly. His wide eyes seem to pin Jongin to the spot, and Jongin fights the urge to shrink away. He expects a reprimand of some sort, but instead Kyungsoo eventually just blinks again and says, “What do you want to know?”

Jongin’s heart is pounding, and his brain quickly scrambles to think of a question. “When were you born?” he finally settles with. Basic, safe.

“In your current counting system?” Kyungsoo closes his eyes and tips his head back in thought. “About.. 1690? 1693? Somewhere around there.” Jongin swallows. He had known that Kyungsoo had been around for a while, simply by piecing together details he had picked up from Baekhyun, but hearing it said directly is a bit overwhelming. “A little over three hundred years ago, give or take.”

Three hundred years. That would mean Kyungsoo was born back in the time of the Joseon dynasty, a time long enough ago that to Jongin it seems almost beyond imagination. The events of Joseon are just words in history books to him. And yet here, sitting in front of him, is someone who actually _lived_ through those same events. Jongin involuntary shivers, and goosebumps run down his arms.  

Kyungsoo opens his eyes and cocks his head to the side. “Is that all?” he asks. Jongin can’t tell if Kyungsoo is annoyed or not, but one thing he _does_ know is that Kyungsoo can and will drop any conversation he doesn’t feeling like having. Just because Kyungsoo is talking now doesn’t mean he will keep talking, so Jongin rushes to think of another question.

“What was your life like, before you were turned?” he finally asks. 

Kyungsoo pauses for a second before saying, “I was a scholar.”

“A _scholar_?” Jongin squeaks, his voice cracking embarrassingly. Jongin may not be a history ace, but even he is aware of the Confucian civil service exams that were in place during the Joseon era. One had to pass them in order to become a scholar, and they were notoriously difficult. Anyone who could pass even the first level was respected.

“Not a particularly important one, but yes, a scholar,” Kyungsoo says. He seems amused by Jongin’s reaction; there’s a smile hovering around the corners of his lips. “I had a post out in the countryside.”

Jongin stares at Kyungsoo dumbly. He had been the one to start this conversation, but now he kind of wishes he hadn’t. The information is too hard to digest. There is, Jongin now realizes, an incredibly large divide between knowing simple facts, such as “vampires are immortal,” and actually seeing those facts firsthand in reality.

“You’re the one who asked,” Kyungsoo says pointedly when Jongin fails to recover his composure. His voice is light rather than annoyed, but even so Jongin is quick to nod, enthusiastically enough that his bangs fall into his eyes. Kyungsoo’s mouth twitches into a slight smile.

“I know, I know,” Jongin says hurriedly. “Thank you, really, for answering my questions.” Jongin pauses and studies Kyungsoo’s face, trying to gauge Kyungsoo’s mood. As disconcerted as this conversation is making him feel, Jongin has one more thing he’s dying to know, and he doesn’t want to waste this opportunity. Throwing aside his feelings of uneasiness, he says, “I have just one more thing I’m curious about, if that’s okay?”

Kyungsoo raises his eyebrows slightly in question. Jongin bites his lip, steeling himself, then asks, “How were you changed?”

Kyungsoo immediately stiffens. All at once Jongin realizes that he’s managed to step over the invisible line he’s been so scared of. Every trace of amusement is gone from Kyungsoo’s face, and his eyes are sharp. Jongin flinches away, hunching his shoulders and sliding lower into his chair. He expects Kyungsoo to get angry, to get up and leave, or possibly yell.

Kyungsoo, however, does none of these things. He stares at Jongin, as if considering him, for long enough that Jongin starts to squirm uncomfortably. Finally Kyungsoo says, “I don’t know.” His voice is quiet, almost hollow. “I don’t know who changed me, or why they specifically targeted me. I don’t know why they decided to turn me, instead of just killing me after feeding. One day I was attending my work as usual, and the next thing I knew it was a week later and I was slipping in and out of consciousness, delusional with fever and pain.” 

Kyungsoo finally pulls his eyes away from Jongin, much to Jongin’s relief. The finger Kyungsoo had been using to hold his spot in his book moves to smooth out a crease in the corner of the page. When he speaks again, his words are so soft that Jongin has to strain to hear them.

“We all -- my servants and I -- were sure that I had just been taken with some sort of flu.” Kyungsoo presses down on the book, as if his finger can magically erase the years of pressure that had made the page wrinkle. “But then the cravings for blood started. I was so terrified that I ran away.”

Jongin gulps. _I’m sorry,_ he thinks, _I shouldn’t have asked, I was wrong, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,_ but he can’t seem to force the words past the lump in his throat. The two of them lapse into silence, Jongin trying to work up his courage and Kyungsoo frowning at his book, until Kyungsoo suddenly speaks again.

“You know,” Kyungsoo says, and Jongin jumps in surprise. Kyungsoo’s faint smile from earlier returns briefly before he continues, “I checked the documents, later. Officially I’m listed of dying from illness. It’s true enough, I suppose. The person I had been most certainly died.”

Jongin shivers, strong enough that it catches Kyungsoo’s attention. Kyungsoo looks up and concern momentarily flickers across his face, so brief that Jongin is half-convinced he imagined it. Kyungsoo opens his mouth to say something, then pauses as if changing his mind, before saying, “Is ‘Kyungsoo Interrogation Time’ over now? Because I’d like to finish this reading so I can get back to my paper.”

Kyungsoo is doing that thing again where he changes the topic, but this time Jongin doesn’t mind in the least. “Yeah,” Jongin says shakily. He picks up the highlighter he’d been using before and taps it against his textbook. “Sorry for prying.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t directly reply beyond a vague hum, but when they leave the library a few hours later Kyungsoo offers to buy Jongin dinner. They should probably directly talk about what had happened, Jongin knows, but he eagerly accepts the indirect acknowledgement of his apology all the same. For now, this tacit reconciliation is enough.


	7. Chapter 7

As soon as the weather starts to turn colder, Kyungsoo hauls out a heavy black down jacket that covers all the way to his knees. It makes Kyungsoo look a little like an oversized penguin who somehow got lost in the middle of Seoul, and the first time Jongin sees it he can’t quite muffle his laughter. Kyungsoo glowers at Jongin and hunches his shoulders, huddling deeper behind the jacket’s collar.

“Is that really necessary?” Jongin asks, poking at the padding on Kyungsoo’s arm. Jongin himself is still only wearing a sweatshirt over his shirt. But then again, Jongin has always had an aversion to jackets.

“I hate being cold,” Kyungsoo says. It comes out slightly muffled. 

“I thought vampires couldn’t get cold,” Jongin says, and Kyungsoo gives him a look of disdain.

“That’s a myth,” Kyungsoo replies. “I’m warm, aren’t I? Anything that is warm can also be cold.”

Jongin slings an arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulders. Kyungsoo glares at him again, but doesn’t pull away, and Jongin’s smile widens in response the giddy feeling suddenly bubbling through him. “What are you going to do when it snows?” Jongin asks.

“Hibernate,” Kyungsoo says flatly.

“What, don’t you need a coffin for that?” Jongin is teasing now, a grin still plastered across his face. Kyungsoo stops walking, effectively halting Jongin as well. He turns his head to give Jongin a look that clearly says, ‘Are you fucking serious.’

“Please stop believing everything you read in outdated _manhwa_ ,” Kyungsoo pleads. “A cocoon of blankets works perfectly well, thank you.”

“Guess I’ll have to buy more blankets, then,” Jongin muses. “I only have one.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t reply, but leans into Jongin slightly as he starts walking again. A warmth floods through Jongin that has nothing to do with jackets or the temperature outside.

(Later, when the cold starts to seep in again, Jongin flexes his fingers to try to get the blood running through them. Suddenly, struck by an idea, he sends Kyungsoo a surreptitious glance. Kyungsoo, completely oblivious, is staring off into the distance. Jongin grins mischievously and then quickly, before Kyungsoo has time to react, shoves his cold fingers down the collar of Kyungsoo’s shirt and presses them against Kyungsoo’s skin.

Kyungsoo yells in surprise and outrage. He turns to smack Jongin, but Jongin is already off like a shot, running full tilt down the street and snickering. Kyungsoo, face thunderous with rage, takes off after him.)


	8. Chapter 8

“Hyung.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t respond, so Jongin tries again, a little louder. “Hyung. Kyungsoo.” 

This time Kyungsoo stirs, but it’s only to bury further into Jongin’s chest. He’s laying half on top of Jongin, one leg slotted between Jongin’s and an arm flung across Jongin’s chest.

“Come on, hyung,” Jongin says. He uses his free hand to shake Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “Please let me up, I really gotta pee.”

Kyungsoo finally raises his head. It’s clear, though, from the way he squints blearily at Jongin that he’s not truly awake.

“No,” Kyungsoo says, voice still thick with sleep. “Not moving.” He wraps his arm more tightly around Jongin, fingertips pressing lightly into skin. “Mine.”

Jongin’s breath catches in his chest. “What?” he asks. Maybe he was just hearing things, maybe--

“Mine,” Kyungsoo repeats. “Mine, mine, mine.”

Jongin feels paralyzed; he couldn’t move even if he wanted to now. His heart is hammering wildly, and usually that would wake Kyungsoo immediately. Kyungsoo, however, simply lays his cheek down on Jongin’s chest once more. 

“Sounds nice,” Kyungsoo mumbles, and then he’s gone, once more completely lost to slumber.

Jongin lies awake for a long time afterwards, previous desperate bodily urges forgotten. Kyungsoo’s voice plays on loop inside his head, _mine, mine, mine._ It becomes almost like a mantra; as though, if Jongin repeats it enough times, it will somehow become true. That the words will become something Kyungsoo actually meant, and not just sleep talk.

In the morning Kyungsoo rubs sleepily at his eyes and asks why Jongin looks so tired. Jongin doesn’t know how to reply, so he says nothing at all.


	9. Chapter 9

Kyungsoo can always tell when Jongin wants to ask a question, because Jongin will start fidgeting incessantly. On one hand it’s kind of endearing, the way that Jongin obviously agonizes over these things; but on the other Kyungsoo feels bad that Jongin seems too intimidated to ask directly without worrying about it first. Kyungsoo knows that this is in no small part his own fault -- he has, after all, done his best right from their first meeting to establish a wall between the two of them emotionally. Somehow, though, it still hurts.

“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you or not?” Kyungsoo finally asks when Jongin has been jittery for a good ten minutes. Kyungsoo doesn’t even look up from their Mario Kart game on the TV screen while he speaks, calmly maneuvering Toad so that his cart drifts around a sharp turn. On the other side of the screen Jongin’s Yoshi loses control and falls into the water. Again.

“Um,” Jongin says eloquently. Kyungsoo bites back a smile. He’s not in the habit of showing his emotions -- a habit that dates back even before he was turned -- but lately he finds himself having a hard time controlling his expressions around Jongin. Before, this would have been something that Kyungsoo found concerning. Lately, however, this whole “doing and feeling things around Jongin that should probably be worrisome” thing has become a somewhat of a trend, and Kyungsoo is finding it harder and harder to care.

Jongin’s cart finally crosses the finish line with a spin courtesy of a banana. Even after the game has finished, though, Jongin doesn’t set his controller down. He’s fidgeting again, messing with the buttons. Kyungsoo waits patiently. He knows that if he just sits for a while Jongin will eventually start talking. As expected, after a moment Jongin finally spits his question out. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to not call you hyung?” he asks, all in a rush.

Kyungsoo can feel his eyes widen slightly. Out of all the things that could be bothering Jongin, he hadn’t really expected this to be it. “Of course it’s okay,” Kyungsoo says after he manages to recover a bit. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have told you that to start with. I wouldn’t tell you something I didn’t mean.”

Jongin bites his lip. “I know that, but..  it just feels weird,” he mumbles. “Since you’re older than me and stuff. Like, not just a little bit, but really a lot older.”

“Thanks,” Kyungsoo replies drily. “Way to make me feel ancient.” He half expects Jongin to make a quip about how Kyungsoo _is_ ancient, but instead Jongin just flushes to the tips of his ears. Kyungsoo’s lips quirk into a smile. “Look,” Kyungsoo says, leaning forward towards Jongin slightly and making sure to meet Jongin’s eyes. “If I was truly concerned about things like honorifics, then technically even the old grandpas gathered around playing chess in the park should be calling me hyung.” He raises his eyebrows and looks at Jongin pointedly. Jongin lets out a startled laugh, just as Kyungsoo had intended, and Kyungsoo’s smile grows a little wider.

“Do you mind if I call you hyung anyway?” Jongin asks quietly. His eyes are wide, sincere, and Kyungsoo’s chest feels tight.

“Sure, if you want to,” Kyungsoo says, as nonchalantly as he can manage while feeling like his heart would be working overtime, if it could. Jongin immediately grins.

“Okay then, hyung,” Jongin says. He’s positively beaming, and Kyungsoo is well into the realm of Things That Should Not Be Felt Around Jongin. Jongin is looking at him, so unabashedly happy over a stupid _word_ , and Kyungsoo wants nothing more than to lean in and kiss him. 

He can’t, of course, because that would ruin all the walls Kyungsoo has carefully put in place. But he _wants_ to, more strongly than he ever has before, and that thought has him petrified, battling against a rising sense of panic as Jongin, blithely unaware, turns back to the video game.

“Hyung?” Jongin asks, waving his controller in Kyungsoo’s face and snapping Kyungsoo out of his reverie. Hyung. The word is like a bucket of cold water being dumped over Kyungsoo’s head, and it’s all Kyungsoo can do not to flinch away. “You playing or not?”

“Yeah, I am, sorry,” Kyungsoo replies. He’s flustered, which in and of itself is odd enough that Jongin gives him a strange look. Kyungsoo waves him off and picks up his controller. This time when the race starts, Toad is the one to plunge off the path. 


	10. Chapter 10

“You have a hickey,” Sehun says when Jongin slides into the seat across from him at the cafe they had agreed to meet at for lunch. Jongin is fifteen minutes late -- something that would normally have Sehun scolding him immediately upon arrival. Instead of lecturing about timeliness, though, Sehun is staring at the neckline of Jongin’s shirt with a look of mild horror on his face.

“I do?” Jongin asks, feigning surprise. He’s more than aware of the bruise blossoming next to his collarbone, just barely visible above the neck of his shirt. He had chosen this shirt to wear specifically because the mark would show. Jongin unconsciously brings his hand up and fingers the edge of the fabric.

The thing about Kyungsoo is that he’s very clinical about feeding. There’s usually some making out involved, just by virtue of the general sensual nature of feeding, but Kyungsoo is always careful to never leave any marks other than the quick-healing incisions from his bite. Jongin knows that it isn’t personal, and that in fact Kyungsoo’s actions are perfectly in line with their original agreement, but somehow he still can’t help but feel as if it’s because Kyungsoo doesn’t want anything remaining to show connection to Jongin. Logically he knows that he has no _right_ to feel upset by that, but that doesn’t stop it from hurting anyway.

But last night after feeding Kyungsoo had moved downwards, kissing along Jongin’s neck until he stopped to work at the skin just below Jongin’s collarbone. Jongin had immediately frozen, hardly even able to breathe, equal parts surprised and afraid of scaring Kyungsoo off. “Relax,” Kyungsoo had mumbled against Jongin’s skin, and that alone had been enough to have Jongin once again melting into Kyungsoo’s touch.

Jongin has some other hickeys, too, in places that are more hidden. Sehun doesn’t need to know that, though.

“Sorry,” Jongin says. His eyes are wide with fake innocence. “I didn’t notice.”

“Gross,” Sehun says with a shudder.

Jongin beams.


End file.
